In the latest phase of its expansion, the new firm, which was set up in April by Tom Aldridge, has taken on two new recruits at its Glasgow headquarters to help resource its growing client portfolio.

Fiona Walker, formerly with TL Dallas, has been appointed as head of broking & operations, while Doug Prentice, formerly at Marsh Commercial, joins as a client director. Together, they bring more than 65 years’ experience to the Blackford team.

As part of growth plans, Blackford aims to recruit an additional 14 people over the next three years.

In addition, only a few months after opening its Edinburgh office, Blackford is taking on a bigger space within One Lochrin Square at Fountainbridge to accommodate its expanding team.

The company opened an office in the capital in June, having acquired a commercial customer book from TL Dallas with a collective premium value of more than £3 million.

At the same time, Blackford took on a commercial broker team comprising Stephen Randall, Monika Hübsch, Alan Grant and Laura Scougall to manage the new portfolio of around 100 clients.

Tom Aldridge, the founder and managing director at Blackford Group, said: “I’m delighted to welcome Fiona and Doug to the growing Blackford family. Not only are they hugely knowledgeable, experienced and respected in the industry, they are wonderful people who share our focus on personal service and values of friendliness, care, honesty, and discretion.

“We’ve enjoyed a flying start since launching and these latest appointments are in line with our business plan to help resource our growing client portfolio in Scotland. It’s only been a few months since we opened our Edinburgh office, but we’re already moving into a new space which is 50% larger because we plan to take on more people over the coming months as our portfolio continues to grow.”

Mr Aldridge founded Blackford having been a regional director at Central Insurance Services for more than five years as well as holding national management positions at both Aon and Marsh. The company - which specialises in business risks - is backed by one of the UK’s leading independent brokers, James Hallam, and private investors.